Chip makers need approval from Chinese regulators to complete the $44 billion deal, which is set to expire Wednesday

Qualcomm Inc. is set to find out this week if its $44 billion deal to buy chip maker NXP Semiconductors NV will become one of the biggest casualties in the escalating U.S.-China trade battle.

Wednesday is the expiration date for its merger agreement with NXP, a deal struck in October 2016 that Qualcomm touted as transformational, saying it would diversify a largely smartphone-driven business into the fast-growing automotive chip market.

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